Nine Lives To Live
by YGP
Summary: Hope is a cat and has no idea how to change back to With the help of a pink haired soldier, can they figure out what's going on before things get out of hand? -COMPLETE-
1. A Girl and Her Cat

_**Author's Note:** Hello everyone! So welcome to another new story that I have written! With this one, this is my attempt at humor. Well really another attempt years later... _

_Anyway what was supposed to be a crack fic turned into... I don't know what this is. I guess it still is a crack, but it also has humor (perverted some as warning), joking about some stuff, a little parodying, and a little romance. _

_Still I hope that you will enjoy this story! _

* * *

"_As I sat there watching her, I felt like I should have done something, but I didn't. The way she moved mesmerized me like that dancer girl who was in that chair and then water came down, or the moment you knew when the drunken girl at the party was about to pass out, knowing you shouldn't take advantage. Either way, it was amazing like a fairy tale. Still… maybe I shouldn't have bitten her."_ As Hope sat on the bed, his eyes widened, staring like a kid sitting too close to the TV who just found a toy that he would later aggravate his mom to buy then or at Christmas. He watched as the transformation happened.

Cute, pointy, white ears.

Cute, fluffy white tail.

Cute, pink haired soldier that would kill him horribly later once she woke up.

Seconds later, she landed face first on the mattress of her bed.

"_Uh-oh…"_

_Chapter 1: A Girl and Her Cat: _

_A few feline days before…_

"_Why me?" _The saddened emerald eyes of the former human man traveled around his desk. Various women were circling around his desk with "awes" and "oohs", and the occasional "I'm going to take him home with me!" followed with "Back off! Get your own! I saw him first!" His eyes lowered dully wishing that this stare fest was over. "_They just won't go away will they? Even as this, I'm still too cute."_ Hope checked his hand to make sure that no one drugged him again. Instead of a hand, it was a silver, fuzzy paw. Everything was there. The thin, pointy ears, the long tail, the urge to mark territory to let others know that this was his office. He had to face facts. Somehow he got turned into a cat and he had no clue in the world how. More than that, he had no idea where all these women came from. Uneasy, he glanced at the women that would possibly pull him apart before they even got out of the office, either trying to take him home, or that would torture him by making him dress up in hand made clothes that he rather be choked by.

Outside in the hall, Lightning was heading toward Hope's office when she saw two girls run passed her with giggles between the both of them. Surprised, she peeked in his office and saw the crowd of women. She stepped back toward the wall instantly getting suspicious of what they were doing there this time. "Great. What did Hope do now?" She crossed her arms against her chest as she looked in on the crowd. _"This happens way too much. At least once a month. You would think that he would hire better security unless he wants to get kidnapped again. I don't know what he's into anymore..." _

Lightning leaned back against the wall as she closed her eyes. She debated whether to go in or not to clear out the crowd. Who was she kidding? Might as well. With that, she let out a loud sigh. _"Here we go again. Why do I listen to him? Hey Light! I'm the leader of the Academy. Hey Light! I control the free world. Hey Light! I'm not fourteen anymore and I know what to do with it now. Let's try an "experiment"."_ Lightning replied mockingly in her mind. She peeked around the corner again upset. _"Please... It would take a miracle for him to get into my pants and I'm not wearing any so the real miracle is when?"_

Soon, Lightning stepped into the office behind the crowd. "What's going on here?!" Her voice alone sounded threatening. All that was left was the famous glare that made everyone run away. Only this time, the women glared back. "You all need to leave right now! This isn't some shoe sale!"

"Get lost lady!" one of the women in the crowd shouted.

It was then that the glare began to intense, and here she thought it would be a good morning. She pulled out her gunblade and shot toward the ceiling. A few short screams later, all the women rushed out except for three. Lightning was surprised by who was left behind. "Serah? Fang? Vanille? What are you guys doing here?"

Fang crossed her arms. "Geez! All you had to say was please! Do you have to pull out that thing every time?"

Serah placed her hands at her sides as she was upset. "You could have shot someone."

Lightning looked upset at them. "Listen! I don't play by the rules. Shoot first then ask questions later if they're still alive. So what is everyone doing in here?"

Vanille who looked cheerful as usual stepped aside. "Lightning! Look what we found! Isn't he cute?"

Lightning's eyes traveled down to the cat that was sitting on the desk. She had no idea how happy Hope was that she scared off the women. _"Thank you!"_ He tried to say it out loud, but all that came out was a meow. Lightning stared at the cat stunned. Hope walked over toward her at the edge of his desk and rubbed against her waist. _"Maybe this isn't so degrading as long as if it's with her. Thank you crazy gun sword carrying, but nice smelling woman." _

Lightning frowned at the cat as she crossed her arms. _"Don't call me crazy."_

Hope reacted stunned since she responded. _"Wait! You can understand me?!"_

"_No. Only this time…and last time…and maybe another time in another chapter by accident." _

The two stared at each other until Hope spoke again. "Meow." She didn't respond.

Serah's eyes traveled downwards and placed her finger to her chin. "We think that it might be Hope's cat, but we're not sure. We couldn't find a tag or anything and we can't take him to the shelter. He'll just get put down. Actually maybe we should do that."

Excited, Vanille reached over toward Hope. "Well until Hope gets back, I'll take the cat! I'll play with it! Take baths with it! Hopefully, I won't forget to feed it." Before Vanille could reach over, Lightning slammed her hand on the desk before she could reach Hope. Vanille started to worry once she saw the dark glare in her eyes. "It would be better if I take the cat."

Fang crossed her arms. "She's right. You can't take care of a cat. What about your pet robot in our old village?"

Vanille turned to Fang saddened and fists baled. "It died and came right back."

Fang arched her eyebrow. "But do you know where it is right now?"

Vanille looked down toward the ground. "No…"

Serah became concerned. She hadn't exactly seen her sister take care of a pet before. "Lightning are you sure about this?"

Lightning couldn't believe she asked that. "Am I sure about-?! Look who you're asking!"

The three looked at each other, but then shrugged. Less responsibility and guilt to feel if he dies. Fang looked over toward Serah and Vanille. "Well what's the worst that can happen other than her getting mad and possibly killing him?"

Vanille moaned in disappointed. She really wanted to take the cat. "I guess..."

Hope looked at all four girls. _"Wait a minute! Maybe I should go with someone else that won't kill me. Maybe they all would. They all have weapons and possible anger issues." _Then, a thought crossed his mind as he grinned. _ "Then again maybe bath times with Vanille wouldn't be so bad at the risk of starvation."_ His gaze turned from her chest to Lightning's. Instantly, he became more excited as he closed his eyes. _"Maybe bath times with Lightning might be better. If I'm at risk of drowning, I could use hers as floating devices. Wait a minute. This is no time to think like some pervert..." _Hope relaxed taking a few seconds to think about this calmly like a gentlemen only that quickly went away._ "Who am I kidding? I may never get a chance like this ever again. I could get away with this without being killed."_

His eyes traveled back to Lightning. It might have been his best choice._ "I guess I could just run away if she ever pulls out that sword and hide. There might not be enough time to win her over with the piercing stare of my eyes."_ He took a second to think about it, but then put his head down in defeat before he even got the chance to test it out. _"Nah! Not enough time. Just run with my tail between my legs."_

Afterwards, Fang, Vanille, and Serah headed toward the door. Vanille looked over at Fang. "Oh come on Fang! I could have taken care of a pet!"

"Tell you what. I'll get you some kind of fish and we'll see if that can last more than a week." The door closed behind them.

Quickly, Lightning's glare turned to Hope which made him jump. An expression of fear came on his face._ "Oh no. She has that she wants to kill me look or that she'll skin my fur for some kind of fetish boots."_

Lightning bent down to where she was eye level with Hope. "You little bastard."

Involuntarily, his tail retracted between his legs. Everything inside of him told him to run or at least not release his bowels in front of her. Did she know that it was him? But how? Was his eyes alone enough to give him away? Her hand reached out for him.

Hope was ready for death to take him away. Maybe it would be a better place where he wouldn't get fleas and definitely won't be a cat. "You…" Suddenly, he felt a soft hand stroke the fur on his back. When he opened his eyes, he saw a sight rarer than the world being in danger. His eyes widened in surprised. _"What the-?" _

"You are just the cutest thing I've ever seen." Lightning was grinning as her fingers rubbed the top of his head. "Yes you are." She started scratching underneath his chin.

Hope couldn't believe it. _"This is so weird… I've never seen Lightning act so…"_ What was scarier than turned into a cat was the way she was coddling him. Lightning stood up and walked around his desk. She sat down in his chair. Hope followed along with her. Lightning picked him up and placed him in her lap. How was this happening? For years, he tried to get on her lap or at least the other way around.

As she continued petting him, he suddenly noticed that he was making some kind of weird noise. It shocked him. _"Am I actually purring?" _

Lightning smiled as she looked down at him. "Now how could your idiot owner just leave you here by yourself?"

Hope frowned as his eyes narrowed toward her. _"I'm sitting right here!"_

Lightning glanced over toward the clock. "Where is he anyway? It's getting late even for his workaholic standard." A frown crossed over her lips as a thought came to mind. "He better not be taken again. If he is, I'll just let the next woman keep him."

Hope was upset with her comment. _"Wow thanks. Now I know how much you care about me."_ He settled and lied on top of her lap as he closed his eyes. _"Ha! Little do you know I'm being taken by you this time."_

The two relaxed as she continued stroking his head and ears. She leaned her head on her other hand. It wouldn't hurt waiting a few more minutes for Hope to come in before she would give up. "Funny. I don't remember Hope even getting a cat. If he doesn't show up, I'll just take you home with me just because you're that adorable. I might just keep you for myself."

"_That actually sounds kind of nice. If I knew you were into cats so much, I would have brought you one a while ago." _Hope smiled as he closed his eyes._ "Then maybe I would have been "so in there!" as my voice actor always says!" _

While things were quiet, Lightning remembered something and leaned forward. "Oh right." Hope looked over curiously to see what she was up to and to avoid being crushed by her chest. She reached into her pouch and pulled out a picture. She reached for the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled it open. Instantly, Hope reacted with surprise. "Maybe this might make him try a move now."

If cats could blush, Hope would. In her hand, there was a picture of just her lying on the floor almost from a top view with parts of her uniform undone and a stare saying "come and get me". She pulled out the other pictures that he had in his desk. "Let's see if the little pervert has caught anymore of me that I don't know about."

Hope blinked surprised. _"How does she know about my secret drawer?"_

As she flipped through the pictures, she said out loud what each one of them was. "Let's see. A couple of shower shots, but can't really make them out with the fog. A few of me sleeping. I don't see how he even broke into my house without me knowing. There's one of Vanille." Then, she held up one picture. Her face became written with confusion. "Why is there one of me in a moogle costume and why is it sticky?"

Hope closed his eyes. _"Candy…Lots and lots of candy…"_

Lightning shook her head and placed it back in his desk. "I really should burn these." When Lightning opened her eyes, she saw Hope's face closer to hers. At first, she looked surprised that he was so close. He was standing on his hind legs while using her chest to support him where his arms were. _"Come on Light! You have to help me think of a way out of this. I can't be stuck like this forever or else, I'll never get to anything that you were saying."_ His head leaned against her. Once he felt the soft surface underneath him and realized where he was, he turned calmed and relaxed against her. _"Maybe a few more minutes of this won't be so bad."_ His sharp claws began to retract in and out.

Unfortunately, the sharp points were tearing through her sweater and scratching her skin. "Stop that!" Lightning pulled him away and held him up in the air. Hope grinned nervously as he closed his eyes. Lightning sighed. "I don't know where he is, but I'm not staying here all day waiting." Lightning stood up carrying Hope in her arms. Hope relaxed against her as he closed his eyes. _"It's nice not having to walk."_

* * *

In Academia, they traveled back to her one bedroom apartment. After she opened the door, she dropped Hope out of her arms, letting him fall face first onto the hard floor. She was unaware that he fell asleep on the way over. He groaned, hoping that a mark wouldn't show up later.

Concerned, Lightning kneeled down and picked him up. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Hope let out a sound to let her know that he was fine for now. "Wow. I guess I have to be careful with you now." She rubbed the top of his head. "You're not exactly the smartest cat there is are you?"

Hope's ears flipped back as he looked upset. _"Again with the insults."_

Lightning placed him on the counter and went toward the fridge. "You hungry?"

With that, Hope's stomach growled. He could go for food as long as it wasn't processed death cat food. Lightning searched through her fridge. "I don't have any of that stuff that cats eat, but I'm sure some human food won't kill you right away."

Hope smiled with relief. _"I'm glad she's too lazy to go buy any. I'm safe for now."_

Minutes later, she sat two plates in front of them. Lightning sat down as a thought crossed her mind that concerned her somewhat. She leaned her chin on her hand. "This has to unsanitary to let a cat eat off his own plate." Soon, she shrugged the thought off. "Well crazy cat ladies do and they seem fine. I'll just wash it really good. There's no way I'm letting this ruin my floor. Speaking of floor." Lightning turned her head to Hope as she glared daggers of death. "If you do anything that is only meant for a litter box on my floor, I'll put you down myself."

Hope looked back upset. _"What do you expect me to do?! Go outside like some dog?!"_

Lightning stood up. "I better find something for you to go in."

Hope's eyes traveled down. _"Great! Why can't I be human again? What have I done wrong in my life to deserve this?"_

Lightning grabbed him which caught him by surprise. "Well…I can't avoid this. Time to go to the store. You're going with me. I'm not having my place smell because of you."

Hours later, Lightning returned as she quickly closed the door to her apartment. Her back leaned against the sturdy, now locked structure. Her pink hair was ruffled in a mess. Under her arm was Hope with his eyes closed. The fear from what happened hours earlier was slowly dying down inside of him. Lightning let out a loud sigh. Both of them returned from the pet store with bags in her hands of stuff to make Hope at home. Hope figured if he was going to be a cat for who knows how long, he might as well live comfortably. "That cat woman at the store was a crazy one. One look at you and she automatically tried to take you from me even right out of my hands."

Hope didn't want to be reminded of the constant chasing from that strange woman. Who could be that obsessed with cats? Lightning looked over at her arm and looked upset. "Thanks for scratching me up."

"_What else was I supposed to do? It was a bad reaction okay."_ Hope closed his eyes as he sighed. _"I'm never going to live this down. The humiliating of being a cat will haunt me forever. To do stuff that I would never do in public."_

Lightning placed the bags down in the kitchen. She put her hand on her hip. "I'll make up this stuff later. Now would be a good time to take a bath. Get this blood and cat fur off." She walked into the hallway.

Instantly, Hope opened his eyes, surprised. _"Then again it's a great day to be alive and a curious feline." _He jumped down and followed after her, forgetting everything that happened once he heard the word "bath".

Minutes later, Lightning settled into a nice and warm bubble bath. From the corner where the door was, Hope peeked in to see her relaxing comfortably. He shook his head and sat down in the hall. _"This is wrong. Every woman deserves her privacy and not to stared at or possibly videotaped. I won't do it. That would just be against everything I stand for."_

With his sensitive ears, he heard a soft sigh. Instantly, it caught his attention. Lightning had her eyes closed as she leaned her head back against the edge of her tub. "This is a nice, every once in a while or once in a lifetime opportunity. This warm and inviting water will turn cold eventually. I guess I'll have to get out then."

Hope closed his eyes as he looked determined. _"Right! Stick to what I was thinking before. It's only right…"_ With his tail high in the air and ears pointed up, he was going to do the right thing. _"I should go make sure that she doesn't drown. What kind of guest wouldn't do that?"_ He stepped into the bathroom and went over to where she was. Hope jumped up on the edge on the tub.

Lightning opened her eyes and looked over. "Oh right. I forgot I brought home the furball. I guess I'm going to have bathe you eventually too. I'm not getting bit by anything you bring in."

Hope tried to step down into the water, but once a slight touch hit his paw, he instantly backed away. _"What's this? It's like I dislike water even more now than before." _

Lightning arched her eyebrow. "Are you trying to come in with me?" Hope held his head down, thinking it was wrong of him to try this. He should turn around and leave right then. A gentle smile came on her face as she held her hands out. "It's okay. You can come in with me if you want."

"_Well she offered." _Hope tried to move in, but he couldn't. His body felt stiff as if something was holding him back. He closed his eyes tight. _"Dislike… of…water and …morals…getting…in way…"_

Lightning wondered what was wrong with him, but then relaxed with her back against the tub. "Great. I thought I would get lucky and end up with a cat that actually likes water. You fight me at all and I'll put you down myself." Hope sighed as he closed his eyes, giving up. He jumped off of the edge and grabbed a cloth. Lightning opened her eyes once she heard a meow and looked over to see what he had in his mouth. She gave a faint smile and took it from him. "Thanks." She wet it with the warm water and placed it over her face. She slid down a little as she relaxed.

Hope smiled. At least he did something to make her happy. A few seconds later, his eyes widened. In his ears, he could hear the ringing of a bell. He closed his eyes as he placed his paws on his head. What was going on with him? His body made a loud thump on the floor after he fell back. He kept his cries to his self. About a minute later, the pain stopped. Slowly, Hope began to open his eyes. When he looked at himself, his eyes noticed skin. Surprised, he sat up as he stared at his hand. He couldn't believe it and didn't know how it happened, but he was finally human again. "I'm me again!" His eyes widened as he looked down at himself. "And I'm naked!"

Once Lightning heard his voice, she turned her head and began to lift the cloth from her eyes. "Hope?"

Hope turned his head. She couldn't know that he was there out of nowhere, or that he was her cat the whole time. Quickly, Hope took her hand away before she could open her eyes and pressed her head down into the water. More bubbles came to the surface of the water with her struggling to breathe. Her legs started kicking furiously. There was a scared expression on Hope's face. "I can't let her see me like this. She'll kill me." Hope lifted his eyes toward the ceiling. "Then again I could say that it was a surprise." After hearing himself say it out loud, he shook his head. She would never believe that. "No. I got to get out of here."

While he was trying to come up with a plan, he didn't seem to notice that the struggling Lightning that tried to get out of the water started to slow down.

Suddenly, Hope started to feel weird. His hand that he had on top of her head began to loosen and shrink. Quickly, Lightning rose her head up out of the water as she took a deep breath in. When she looked around, all she saw was Hope lying on the floor as a cat. Lightning started to get worried. "What just happened? This is like what happened to that girl in that scary movie." Lightning sat up, upset. "The undressed girl in bath. I'm not being a part of some horror movie cliché."

Hope opened his eyes. In front of him, he saw that he was back to having paws again. He moaned. He just wanted to be human again. Was that so hard? He looked over toward Lightning who looked as if she was about to get out. His eyes widened. Maybe he woke up at the right time.

Lightning held out her hand and a towel flew toward her. Quickly, she wrapped it around her body and rushed out. She was going to find the one that tried to kill her. Hope lied stunned. How did she do that? He stood up on his feet and went after her.

When he found her, she was standing in the living room with her fingers to her chin. "That's weird. It doesn't seem like someone tried to break in and I didn't hear anything before. The only other explanation is… there's something paranormal going on." She placed her hands on her hips. "Great. My apartment just got haunted. Maybe I should go."

Hope gave a dull stare as he sat on the floor. _"She can't serious believe in ghosts."_

Then, Lightning shook her head as she closed her eyes. "That's stupid." She turned and headed toward her bedroom. "If something else happens, I'll just stay in the house and set up cameras everywhere where the times speeds up then slows down on the videotapes and something weird happens like standing up in the doorway for hours at a time like I'm possessed. Then I'll just stay here until something eventually gets me or I get killed."

Hope sighed as he closed his eyes. _"I should have taken a bathroom break while I was still human."_

* * *

As night continued to pass, Lightning was lying down on her bed, getting ready to sleep. Hope jumped up on her bed and went in beside her. Lightning rubbed the top of his head. "You're sleeping here with me too?" Cheerfully, Hope responded with a meow which caused Lightning to smile. "Come on." Lightning closed her eyes.

Suddenly, she felt something pounce on her stomach. "Wow! You're a heavy one."

Behind his smile was an upset look for her comment. _"Let's not go there."_

Lightning got used to the weight that he put on her and closed her eyes. Then she felt something moving on her. When she opened her eyes, she saw him lift up her shirt with his teeth and he slipped underneath. The fur tickled against her stomach and made her smile. Slowly, he crept upwards as if he was stalking prey, but soon he settled. She was surprised as to where he stopped. Hope let out a smile as his eyes were closed. Now he could sleep peacefully nestled between her bosoms. _"They really are soft. They make the perfect pillow."_

With her finger, Lightning poked him. "Hey!" She grabbed him at his waist and tried to pull him off, but she instantly heard a growl from him. She tried again, but Hope growled again. Then she felt the tip of his claws in her skin. "Ow! You little-!" Finally, she sighed and gave up. "Fine. If I roll over and you suffocate then it's not my fault."

Hope smiled as he started to fall asleep. _"Never again can I be this bold." _

Hours had passed by. Hope was sound asleep against Lightning. When he tried to move his head, it was hard to. His head was trapped underneath her shirt, but he still managed to breathe. Neither did he or she know that he had changed back to human that night.

* * *

_Well that's it for the first chapter! I hope that you like it so far! As always let me know what you think and I'll be back to update!_


	2. To The Biter Goes The Spoils

_**Author's Notes:** Thank you to everyone for reading the first chapter of the story, sending in reviews, and adding this to your favorites and alerts! I really appreciate all of the feedback. I want this to become a great story! __I was surprised by all the "cute"s in a row I seen and I was happy to see all of them so thank you for that. I was also glad to hear that pervert cat Hope was the best as well too!  
_

_I'm sorry for not including this earlier and it was something I forgot to mention. This story takes place after FF13-2, ignoring some of the events that happened, having all of the characters come back to 500 AF, and acting as if a happy ending happened. This story is supposed to be bringing in a new problem and trying to solve it as you read more, but nothing like a world ending kind of thing. Hope that clears up any confusion. _

_I hope that you will enjoy this chapter of the story._

* * *

_Chapter 2: To The Biter Goes the Spoils:_

The next morning, Lightning returned to Hope's office. Across the room, she could see the empty chair that he usually sat in. After asking around, no one saw any sign of him. Now she was really starting to get concerned. It wasn't like him to disappear without telling anyone. Maybe she was starting to regret it when she said that she wouldn't go after him if some crazy woman kidnapped him again. A sigh left from her lips.

"Hey!" Lightning turned her eyes toward the voices who spoke. Fang, Vanille, and Serah walked in where she was. When they looked at her, their expressions changed to surprise. "Lightning?" Serah wanted to question her, but wasn't sure what she could say.

Fang smirked and pointed toward her chest. "Decided to get implants huh?" She tilted her head observing more. "Weird. Looks like someone did a crap job of it. It's all lumpy and everything."

A curious look came to Vanille's face. "Like a third one from that movie or maybe more than three."

Lightning gave a dull stare. They couldn't be serious. "Really?" She reached for the zipper of her sweater and pulled it down. Once the girls saw what it was, they reacted with surprise. There, they saw Hope sleeping against her chest. "The stupid cat won't leave. Somehow the little furball made a carrier attached to my bra so now I'm like his personal chauffeur or something. I have to admit it was smart on the cat's part. If I try to take him away, he tries to scratch me."

Vanille grinned as she leaned her face closer to a sleeping Hope. "Awe! He's found a new home!"

Lightning zipped her sweater back up. "He doesn't want to leave. He's already passed out twice from all the heat under there, but yet he stays. Anyway you guys haven't seen Hope have you?"

All three shook their heads. "Nope."

Lightning looked to the side starting to get concerned. No one had seen him at all. It seemed like he had disappeared. Vanille smiled for comfort. "Don't worry. We'll find him. We'll look everywhere if we have to…" Then, her expression changed to that of nervousness. "Considering everywhere is not in the city. It's easy to get lost there."

Lightning sighed as she closed her eyes. That wasn't going to help much. Suddenly, she closed her eyes as she was in pain. Right away, Serah noticed. "What's wrong?"

Lightning placed her hand over her chest. "Nothing. I'm fine."

Serah pouted. "Awe come on! No one makes a face like that if something didn't happen to them. Did someone hurt you?"

As the girls were speaking loudly, Hope woke up from his sleep, still too groggy to wonder what was going on. _"Is it time to go to work already?"_

Lightning gave her an assured look. "No. I just woke up this morning and felt this pain in my chest like something heavy was lying on it like a human head. It's weird. I found drool too."

Serah placed her finger to her chin. "Well that sounds… horrible… and even weirder how very specifically you pick that as what you suspect caused the pain." she replied with unease.

Vanille looked worried. "That sounds scary like someone trying to cut you open and trying to harvest your organs for money."

Hearing that had made Serah more concerned. "Oh no! Are you sure you're all right?!"

Lightning gave a serious look. "Don't worry. I didn't see any blood or any sign that someone tried to have his way with me."

"Maybe you shouldn't stay by yourself. After all, there are all kinds of crazy people these days like stalkers, rapists, vacuum sales people, cotton candy sellers-." Lightning placed her hands on her sister's shoulders. "Serah. Calm down. I can take care of myself. I have a certain set of skills that make it dangerous for people to even be around me. Don't ask me how, but somehow all of us ended up dragged against something bigger to fight and the world's about to end in some way. Hopefully none of us die and are frozen in crystal throughout a sequel."

Serah nodded. "You're right. You'll be fine."

Hope began to drift off into sleep again. First, he stretched out his legs as much as he could, letting his claws come out. _"Something's wrong with Lightning. Maybe I should help… after my next nap."_

Lightning leaned up straight. "Good. I'll get down to the bottom of this-." Suddenly, she felt pain. She could tell that somehow Hope was scratching her again.

Hope's eyes widened once he realized what he was stretching against. _"Uh-oh. She's going to kill me for scratching her again. It was what she threatened with yesterday."_ Feeling tired, he stared to fall back asleep again. _"Maybe if she sees that I was asleep the whole time, then she won't kill me. Then again she might do it just as my eyes are closed. Don't worry Light. I'll make it all better."_

Serah became worried once she saw Lightning's reaction. "Are you okay?"

Vanille was worried about her reaction as well. "Are you having a heart attack?"

An upset look came across Lightning's expression as she knew exactly what caused the pain. "No! It's this freaking cat! He's-." Unexpectedly, she felt stopped as her body shivered for a second.

Curiously, the others looked at her. "Lightning?" Then, their eyes widened in surprised once they saw her cheeks turn red.

Lightning closed her eyes as she put her arm over her chest. "Stop that you stupid cat." She tried to keep her smile back, but it was no use. She could feel the sandpaper tongue against the side of her bosom. The feeling was ticklish, but felt too good at the same time. She even started laughing. "Stop it…!" Lightning bent over hoping that the shift in weight would cause him to stop and hopefully drop him out his carrier. _"This is so wrong…"_ she thought.

Vanille pouted and pointed toward Lightning. "See Fang! See how much fun I could've had if I took the cat home!"

Fang waved her hand. "Whatever! I'll get you a new cat if you tell me what happened to Mr. Goldfish yesterday."

A saddened look came on Vanille face. "It's just doing a trick. It's called flip upside down."

"And it can play dead." Fang pointed out. "You should have stopped feeding it so much."

Hope opened his eyes. He stopped once he heard all of the noise and felt all the movement. Were they rolling down a hill or something? Once he realized what he was doing, he stopped. He was sure that heat was rising up somewhere on him. Soon, he came to the conclusion that it was just caused by animal instincts…and possibly…hormones… maybe just a little.

Once Lightning calmed down, her eyes lifted up to see the others watching her. She regained her composure as she cleared her throat. She held her fist to her mouth and headed toward the door. "What are you looking at? Go stare at something else… that looks weird."

* * *

Later that night, Hope was sitting on Lightning's bed waiting for her to return. Soon, she walked in as she looked tired and sat on the edge. Hope wondered what was wrong and walked over beside her. He made a sound which caught Lightning's attention. She gave a weak smile and stroked his fur. Still Hope looked at her curious. He made another sound as a way to say that she could talk to him. Lightning lied completely on her bed on her back. Hope laid down beside her. "Not getting under my shirt now?"

Hope closed his eyes. He figured it was time to get out of there. It was just getting too hot and he didn't want to die. Relaxing, they both lied in silence. That is until Hope could hear Lightning speaking under her breath. It was amazing how much cats could hear. He heard things from outside her apartment that he never wanted to hear again. "Where did he take off to this time?"

Hope stared over at her. Was she actually concerned about him? Lightning's eyes drifted toward the side away from him. "He could've at least told someone where he was going. That way he wouldn't have made people worry so much."

Hope's eyes drifted down. He didn't mean to make anybody worry, but he didn't know how to change back from what he was or tell anybody who he was. He didn't know if he ever could.

As the night continued to pass, Lightning was asleep, but Hope was still awake. For hours, he tried to figure out some way that he could solve all of this. Outside, the clouds passed over the moon, letting the light shine through her window. Hope closed his eyes disappointed. No matter what he tried, nothing worked. Was it truly hopeless?

Suddenly, he closed his eyes tight. Through his ears, he could hear the sound of a bell ringing through his head again. When he opened them about a minute later, he felt different. He sat up and saw that his paws were hands again. His eyes widened in surprised. _"What? I'm human again?"_ He looked toward the window. _"Is that it? I can only change back to human when its night? Now I know how werewolves and celebrities who somehow lose weight overnight feel." _Once he looked down, his eyes widened in surprised. _"Why can't I be like the werewolves that keep their clothes on or at least some pants?!"_

Soon, his attention turned to Lightning who was still sleeping. His lips curved into a smile. He was glad that she still was. Otherwise, she probably would have cut him in half for showing up to her place without any clothes. Now he had the chance to tell her that he was okay. Slowly, his body hovered over hers. He couldn't help but beam. It was cute how she snored and drooled a waterfall onto her pillow. "Light." he whispered softly.

There was no response. He called out for a few times, but she still wouldn't wake up, each time louder than the last until he started yelling. His fingers pinched her cheeks making her cheeks poke out which made him laugh silently. "I got to remember to take a picture of this." Soon, his expression turned to confusion. "Usually she's so alert. How can she be sleeping this hard?" He called to her louder, but still there was no response.

Hope grabbed onto her shoulders and began shaking her. "Wake up! The house is on fire! Someone's broken in!" Nothing he said worked. His eyes traveled to the side, thinking of another way to wake her. Finally, one thing popped into his mind. His head turned to her. "Light. The world's in trouble again and it's going to end unless you do something about it."

Lightning groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. "Not this crap again." When she opened her eyes halfway and looked up to see Hope smiling toward her, she was surprised. He was just happy that she woke up. "Hope?" She glanced down. "Why are you naked?"

He became nervous, searching for some kind of excuse. "Um…? Because you…asked me…to?"

Lightning thought about it as much as she could, but it was hard. Slightly, she shrugged as she closed her eyes. She planned on letting it go. "I asked for weirder." Once she realized who she was talking to, she opened her eyes. "Hope!" Lightning sat up too fast as Hope stayed still and ended up bumping her head against Hope's head. Knocked out, she fell back against her pillow.

"Ow!" Hope leaned back with his eyes widened as he covered his hand over his nose. "What the-?! I think she just broke my nose! There's blood everywhere!" Slowly, Hope removed his hand as he looked worried. "Please don't let me die! Please don't let me die! Please don't let me die!" When he looked, he only saw a little blood in his hand. "Oh wait. I'm fine. I can still breathe." He looked over toward Lightning who was still knocked out. "What in the world does she have in her head? Rocks?"

Once Hope realized that she was gone, he closed his eyes with a disappointed look. _"Great. Now I can't tell her that I was actually her cat all along. Well this sucks."_ His eyes traveled over to the side. _"Nothing I can do about it now. Might as well go see what's in her fridge." _Afterwards, he got up and walked out of the room.

* * *

"What?!" Both Serah and Vanille stood scared and in shock. Vanille closed her eyes tight as she held her hands together. "Oh no! That only means one thing! You're going to die!"

Serah felt uneasy that Vanille said that out loud, but it wasn't as if she wasn't thinking the same thing. Her eyes traveled over to Lightning. "I don't know Lightning. Maybe you should leave that apartment. When you told us about that human head you found, it sounds like things have only gotten weirder."

Lightning placed her hand on her hip. "I didn't say anything about finding a human head-."

"We're moving you out right now!" Serah decided to put her foot down.

Lightning looked confused. "I…haven't told you what happened this time yet. All I did was asked if this was okay to eat." She held up a bagel in her hand.

Vanille and Serah looked surprised, but then relaxed somewhat. "Oh…"

Fang leaned against the wall. "Just let the woman finish already…"

"What happened this time?" Serah asked.

Lightning's eyes drifted down. "It was weird. Last night…I saw him."

"Who?" Vanille asked curiously.

"Maybe it was a dream, but it was so detailed. I could see everything. I really mean everything. The man somehow showed up without any clothes on."

Confusion became written on Serah's face. "Who are talking about?"

Lightning looked over at her younger sister. "Hope. Who else?"

Vanille gasped as she believed that she had the answer. "Maybe he's dead."

Lightning looked a little confused. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would he show up with no clothes on?"

"Maybe he's naked and dead." Vanille answered.

Lightning shook her head. "I doubt that Hope is dead. I spoke to him for a short time before I blacked out."

"Maybe you can speak to the dead."

Lightning frowned at Vanille. "Can we get over the dead thing? Anyway, there's some more weird stuff going on too. When I checked my apartment today, I found half of my fridge cleaned out, and what looks like a butt print on my kitchen chair, and for some reason my toilet seat was up. "

Hope closed his eyes as he was lying on his desk. _"So I forget a few things before I had to change back and I was hungry." _

Serah looked uneasy. "I don't know Lightning. Maybe you should move out. Next time you might not be so lucky... It could be all your food next time."

Lightning crossed her arms. She didn't understand it, but she would solve this mystery. "I'll be fine. I'll get down to the bottom of this even if takes me hundreds of years. I'll figure it out."

* * *

Later that night, Hope's eyes watched as Lightning paced around her bedroom. Maybe he would get lucky and the transformation would happen again so that she could see that it was really him. Finally getting impatient, she lied down on her bed and placed her hands behind her head. "Maybe I should set up cameras around here. That way I won't have to stay up all night and all the weird stuff can happen then."

His ears lowered as he sighed. There had to be a way. His paws walked across her stomach up to her chest. There was a look of sadness on his face. _"There has to be a way. Sorry about this Light."_ When he lifted his eyes, he saw a frown across her lips. He was confused as to why she was upset. When he wanted to say what, all that came out was "meow".

Lightning frowned as she glared into his eyes. "Don't give me that. You know exactly what you did."

He became more confused. _"What did I do now?"_ Louder a meow came out.

She crossed her arms. "As soon as I let you out of my sight, you start scratching everything in sight especially my clothes."

He let out a growl. _"I can't help if it's a basic instinct! There's only like one outfit anyway!"_ Seeing that she wouldn't let it go, he decided that maybe there was one way to help ease her anger: act cute and innocent like a kitten. It would only be a matter of time before he felt that she would be completely under his cat like spell. More he leaned over and rubbed his grey fur against her cheek.

"Stop that." She tried to pull him away, but he wouldn't budge. More she felt her anger begin to fade. Seeing that she wasn't going to put him down, he met with her face to face. "Fine…" she moaned. "I'll make sure to feed you tonight and not let them neutered you. Next time you do it, I will do it myself."

Hope gave a nod, happy. He calmed down, thankful. _"Still Light I wish there was some way that I can tell you that it's me."_ As he stared at her face, a warm feeling resided inside him. Maybe because he was warm already with all the fur he had, but still, seeing her smile a little was worth it. Since she probably wouldn't kill him if she tried, he leaned in and pressed his cold nose against her warm one. Through his ear, he heard the same ringing bell as he did before, but it didn't seem to bother him.

Lightning was surprised by the action. After he backed away, he closed his eyes happy. "Now that that's settled, Light will probably be going to bed and I can sleep right in my usual spot in the warmest, softest place in the world: underneath her shirt." When his eyes turned over, he saw Lightning with a stunned look on her face. It made him wonder why she looked that way. He frowned. "What's with the surprised look? What did I do wrong this time?! Honestly woman! You want to kill me over every little thing!" His smiled returned. "Anyway, time for bouncy bouncy." He tilted his head, but the expression from her face never changed.

Finally she spoke. "Hope…?"

"Yes?"

She blinked a few times before she quickly threw him from off of her onto the floor. "I can't believe that Vanille was right. This cat is possessed." She rushed to get her gunblade.

Hope looked surprised. "Wait! Light! You can hear me?!" Soon, he took off running once she started taking shots at him.

"Hope is dead and he's in the body of a cat! Don't worry! I'll free you!"

"I'm not dead! Don't free me by making me dead for real. Just listen and stop shooting at me!"

Minutes after the many attempts on his life, he finally hid himself in the closet. Lightning kneeled down toward the door. He took a few minutes to catch his breath. "Whatever you do, don't kill me. I can explain…Not really. I don't know how I ended up this way. I just did. I'm not dead. I'm alive and I'm a cat. Now if I come out, will you still try to kill me?"

Lightning placed her arm on her knee upset. "I should for all the stuff you pulled. You just went on my carpet!"

"You were trying to kill me and cats can't exactly hold their bowels as much as dogs! They'll go anywhere!" Both of them let out a sigh as they closed their eyes. "Anyway can we talk about this calmly? No guns. No freak outs."

Lightning relaxed and decided to listen to him. "I guess if we have to. You're actually good for target practice."

Hope stepped out of the closet upset. "I'm not your personal shooting range. I see what I mean to you now." She walked over and he jumped onto the bed. It was a lot to take in for her, but then again she saw a lot worse with stuff she had to fight. Then, she crossed her arms over her chest upset. He looked confused. "What?"

Her eyes glared at him. "This whole time you didn't tell me it was you!"

"I couldn't! All I could do was make sounds! I've been trying to tell you this whole time especially the night before until you head butted me!"

She looked surprised. "So it wasn't a dream?"

"No! You made me bleed!" He could still remember that night clearly especially the pain and the almost broken nose.

She leaned forward, upset. "So you really did show up naked in my room? Trying to have your way with me?!"

"I can't control how I change! Besides, I didn't hear any complaints for you!"

"I was sleeping!"

"Likely excuse."

Suddenly, a dark glare came to her eyes with intent to kill. "This whole time I took you in. You followed me everywhere. I even let you sleep under my shirt."

Hope turned his head away from her. "It wasn't my fault. I was trying to get warm and a place to sleep."

"You are so dead."

Hope got on his guard as his back arched. "I told you that there was no way to tell you that it was me!"

"So you're telling me that while you were still human, you couldn't have just left a note saying "Hey Light! I'm your cat!""

"That would never work. You wouldn't believe something like that. It would have to be more like "Dear Lightning, it may come as a surprise and I hope that you are sitting down to hear this, but I have something to tell you-.""

"Save it!"

"I can't help that I was hungry!"

"All night?!"

"Hey! I was still trying to figure out what was going on and you were knocked out."

"Because of your hard head."

"You can't talk!"

Then, she lunged for him and grabbed him. He thought that maybe she was planning to kill him. He tried to get out of her embrace and reached over toward her shirt with his claws. He managed to sink them through and pulled himself over toward her. "Ow! Come back here!"

"You're not taking me alive!" She had a tight squeeze over him. While he was close to her, as an act of defense, he bit the side of her neck so that she would let go of the tight grip she had on him. Again, he heard the ringing of a bell through his ear. His eyes widened as he felt himself get dizzy all of a sudden. From around his waist, he felt her grip loosen. His body fell back onto the bed.

Moments later when he reopened his eyes, he saw a hand in front of him. Slightly, he moved it to see that it was his own hand and it was human again. A smile came to his face as he sat up. "Hey! I'm myself again!" He moved his hands around his body from his head and lower. His eyes traveled down. "And I finally have pants on!"

When he looked over, his eyes widened in surprised. There he saw her. Her eyes were closed as she was falling forward. On top of her head, white ears appeared along with a white fluffy tail. Around her neck appeared a collar with a hanging bell in the middle. He watched stunned as she went through the transformation. She fell against the bed unconscious half woman, half cat.

Instantly, the smile went off of his face. "Uh-oh."

* * *

_That's it for this chapter! Let me know what you think and I'll be back to update!_


	3. Transform

_**Author's Note:** Hi everyone! Thank you for keeping up with the story, sending in reviews, and adding this to your favorites and alerts! All questions about what happened to them will be answered now and later in the story. I hope that you will like the next chapter! _

* * *

_Chapter 3: Transform:_

Lightning wasn't the only one who had gone through a transformation. As Hope looked in the mirror in the bathroom, he pulled at the grey ears that were on the top of his head. He glanced behind him to see his tail. Once he checked how the change had affected him, he realized that he wasn't completely back to normal. He stepped back into Lightning's room to see that she was still lying on the bed unconscious, barely breathing with her face down and pressed against the mattress, and hips in the air. The last time he checked, she was still alive.

A few times the thought crossed his mind that he shouldn't have bitten her. Still, she looked cute as she was sleeping peaceful with her fluffy ears and tail. It always helped that she wasn't trying to kill him. He knew there would probably be a matter of time before she tried again.

Minutes later, her eyelids began to twitch. Slowly, she opened them. As she sat up, she placed her hand to the side of her head. There was a pain going on inside of her head. When she lifted her eyes, she saw Hope sitting in front of her. Nervously, he waved with one hand as he held a sandwich in the other. "Hi…!"

She couldn't believe it. How could he eat at a time like this while she was knocked out, especially her food? Upset, she wanted to yell, but instead a cat like sound came out. Right away, she placed her hand to her lips. Getting upset again, she tried to talk, but all of it came out as sound. Hope stared as if he was paying attention, but couldn't understand a word that she was saying. He took a bite of his sandwich. Angry, she slapped it out of his hand. His eyes traveled over to the rest of it on the floor. "Hey…! I was eating that…" his voice started to go quiet. "I was very hungry. You didn't exactly feed me today."

Quickly, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Even though she couldn't talk, he could probably guess why she was upset with him. "Listen. It's all right. You have a right to be upset." Lightning relaxed slightly until Hope spoke again. "I thought about making you a sandwich when I got up, but you were pretty out of it and I didn't know when you would wake up. It's been a few hours." She flicked him against the forehead. "Okay maybe a few minutes."

She sighed as she shook her head. Since she was stuck the way she was, she looked around at herself to see what she had turned into. Her hands reached up to grab the white ears that were up on her head. When she glanced at the fluffy white tail behind her, she tried to see if she could move it, but it was hard to get the hang of it. When her eyes looked over, she saw that his tail was moving. In result, she pouted and tried again. It took some time, but she finally managed to catch on. That instantly earned a smile from Hope sitting across from her. In response, she frowned at him.

When Hope lifted his eyes up from her tail to her, he was surprised. For some reason, Lightning seemed calm now. Her white tail waved through the air like a cat just sitting around relaxing. He gave a smile of relief. Maybe she wasn't planning to attack him.

Little did he know what she was really planning. One way or another, she was going to change back to normal again. Innocently, she slid over toward him, but behind that she began to stalk her prey. When she was close enough, she was about to attack until she felt something strange, almost calm like. Her eyes traveled over to see that he was touching her tail. "Wow! This really is real! It's cute."

Upset, she took her tail away from his hand and turned her head away from him. He just grinned and touched it again. "It's really soft compared to mine."

Soon, it became a tug of war between her tail. Unfortunately, the cat side of her had gotten the best of her. Her body relaxed at his touch unable to stay mad at him for long. After he stopped, she was released out of her trance and relaxed back to where she was. He gave a smile. "Don't worry. Together we'll find a way to change us back to normal. If not, at least you'll always have me."

Hearing that, her eyes lowered as her body dropped back onto the bed. She was doomed.

* * *

"Is everything okay?" Beside him in the hall of the Academy, the pink haired, half cat gave him a nod. Both Hope and she wore hats over their heads to cover their ears. He hid his tail within his pant legs and hers underneath her skirt. "We'll figure out how to solve this and no one will have to know."

"Hey!" When they heard the familiar voice, they saw Serah, Vanille, and Fang come up behind them. Serah looked surprised. "Hope? Lightning you found him?"

Nervously, Hope rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah…"

"Where have you been all this time? How did Lightning find you?" Serah asked curiously.

"Well…it's a long story. First this weird thing happened and next thing I know, I ended up in Lightning's apartment and I got to sleep-." Suddenly, Lightning covered over his mouth as she looked serious. Hope decided to change the subject. "Anyway I'm back now and we should get going."

Before they could leave, Serah stepped over to Lightning. "Hey! Since when did you start wearing hats?" She reached over to try it, but instinctively Lightning stepped back, unintentionally letting out a growl. Serah was surprised by her reaction. "Wow! I think that you've been hanging around Hope's cat too much."

"My cat?" Hope was curious as to what Serah was talking about.

"Yeah. The one's that Lightning has been taking care of." Vanille filled in. "Ooh! Can I take care of it now?! I've gotten really responsible since then!"

Fang arched her eyebrow as she placed her hands on her sides. "Oh really? What about that dog that we found and you let out of your sight for one second?"

Vanille's eyes traveled down to the ground as she placed her finger to her chin. "Oh right. We never could fix him after he was run over."

Hope looked surprised, but then gave a look of relief. "Good thing that I didn't go with her." The others looked at him curiously as to why he said that. Hope noticed their reactions. "Oh right! I have to remember that I can talk now and everyone can hear what I'm saying."

Everyone stood awkwardly in silence. Getting impatient, Lightning tugged on Hope's arm and pulled him along. Serah smiled. "Hey wait! You didn't answer my question. How did you find Hope?" She moved in closer interested, which Lightning leaned back surprised. "Well don't keep us in suspense! Tell us! Last time we talked, you had no idea. You have to say something!"

Lightning turned her eyes over to Hope. He shrugged. "What? Just say something. It's rude not to answer." Harshly, her foot stomped down on his foot. "Ow! What was that for?" Lightning glared at him. How could he forget that the reason she couldn't talk was because of him? She leaned in and whispered in his ear. He nodded. "Oh! Right…" He then turned his attention to everyone else. "She says something that I can't understand. Something cat like or whatever." Lightning let out a growl.

Serah looked surprised. "Wow! You are getting really good at that."

Hope smiled. "Anyway I can answer that. For days, I haven't been able to come in, but Lightning's been looking after me. Of course I wouldn't trust her with a cat since she almost shot me, threatened to kill me every second of everyday, and didn't feed me a few times, but I guess it's better than being out on the street."

Lightning tightened her fists at her sides. She thought that she took good care of him. Suddenly, she felt her hands being grabbed which made her fists loosen. Her eyes lifted up to see the gentle stare to his green, hypnotizing eyes and smile to his lips. "Even with the threats and almost dying in more ways than one, I couldn't have survived without her. Someone else probably would have killed me instead. I really appreciate everything that she's done for me."

For what felt like moments, Lightning stared at him. As Serah, Vanille, and Fang watched, their expressions changed into surprise. From nearby, Lightning snapped out of her trance to hear laughing from nearby. She turned around as she frowned and glared to see what was going on. As much as she wanted to say something, it only came out as sound. Instantly, she pressed her hand to her lips. The girls were surprised, but then started laughing more. "Isn't she just the cutest thing?" Vanille said.

"Sis! Since when are you into cats that much?!"

When Lightning looked over, she saw that her tail was out and waving about. Her eyes widened in surprised. When did that come out? Fang smirked. "Someone must be really happy."

Serah pulled at her tail. "It seems so real." Once Lightning felt the uncomfortable tug, she let out a loud sound and moved behind Hope grabbing onto his arms. Hope's eyes followed her surprised. Serah became surprised as well. "What? Did you glue that thing on?"

Vanille pulled at it as well. "Wow! It's so pretty! I want one too!"

Lightning pulled away. As she did, her hat fell from her head. The girls looked surprised. Fang pointed at her ears. "Taking it a little far aren't you?"

Hope sighed with his eyes closed. "It's no used hiding it. The cat's out of the bag." Lightning nudged him with her elbow for that cheesy expression. He removed his hat as well and then explained what happened.

The girls were surprised, but then Fang let out a smirk. "Ah! So that explains it. I thought you two were into some weird cat fetish. Had fun being her little pet?"

Hope smiled nervously.

Vanille moaned. "I want to be a cat too!"

"I don't think that you could take care of yourself." Fang's eyes traveled down to the front of Hope's leg. She pointed toward his thigh, noticing something protruding. "So? Is that your tail or you just happy to see her?" She pointed back toward Lightning.

Hope's eyes traveled down to what she was talking about, but then reached behind him. He pulled his tail from the back of his pants. "No… That's not my tail…" He wondered why Fang asked.

Instantly, the girls turned quietly with surprised looks as they glanced between that and his eyes.

* * *

Later that day, Hope was sitting in his office when Lightning stepped in with her arms crossed. He lifted his head noticing that she came in. "Hey! I haven't figured out how we ended up this way or how we can change back."

Lightning's ears tilted backwards as she frowned and her eyes narrowed. He began to get afraid as she approached closer.

"Hi!" When they heard the familiar female voice, they looked back to see Serah with Snow. They were surprised to see that there were cat ears and tails on them that seemed weird. Hope stood up surprised. "What happened to you guys? How did you turn?"

Serah smiled nervously. "Well…It was an accident sort of... Lightning got mad at Snow and sort of…punched and bit him." Hope looked over to see Lightning turn her eyes away ashamed. Serah pointed to herself. "Then I got bit by Snow. Anyway have you figured out how to change us back?"

"No. Hopefully no one will end up biting anyone else. We don't need this thing spreading." When Hope looked over, he saw Lightning glaring toward him which made him jump. Then, Lightning became surprised once she came to a realization and looked over at Serah and Snow. Since she couldn't talk, she started pointing toward them and using gestures as a way of asking how they were talking. She just realized that they were. Serah caught onto the message. "Oh! It just happened. I think it was after we kissed. Yup! I think that's it. You just have to share a kiss with your true love-!" Then, Serah smiled nervously. "or some random stranger your choice…"

Lightning was surprised, but then looked down. If she couldn't figure out how to stop being a cat, she could at least figure out how to talk again. When she searched for Hope, he was no longer in sight. How he got away without her noticing she had no idea.

* * *

A sigh of relief left from Hope that he got away. Any longer in his office and he was sure that he would be in for the wrath of Lightning. He placed his key in the door and stepped inside of an apartment. Before he could walk in, he jumped at his next sight. There in the living room, he saw the half feline that he was trying to hide from sitting on the couch. There was a slight smile to her face. "How did you get in my apartment?"

A confused look came to her face. He took some time to look around before he realized something. "Oh wait! Somehow I ended up back at your apartment. I'm not really sure where mine is."

Lightning stood up and headed over toward him. "I take it you're not mad at me anymore." She just continued to stare at him. It was all she needed to do. Just get one kiss. That was easy to handle right? She moved and stood in close, but he stepped back and slipped passed her. She was surprised that he slipped away from her, but then went after him again. Soon, it became a chase around the room. Eventually, she had him pinned down on the couch.

"Hey! Are you in here?" Serah stepped through the door. Instantly, she was surprised by what she saw. The two of them looked over surprised. "What are you two doing?"

Hope looked over worried. "Help! Your sister is trying to kill me!"

Serah became worried that it really was Lightning's intention. "Don't do it! He can't be killed off just yet!" Lightning shook her head as she closed her eyes. Serah held up her finger. "Oh! Right! She's not trying to kill you. I told Lightning earlier how she could talk again. All she needs to do is find someone to kiss."

Hope blinked surprised. "Oh…!"

Serah looked up as she placed her finger to her lip. "Anyway, I just wanted to stop by for some reason... Later!" She turned and left out of the door.

Soon, Hope's eyes traveled over to Lightning that was above him. "I guess that's one thing that's solved." The two sat up beside each other without breaking their stare. Seconds turned into minutes without a word. "All right…I guess this should happen unless you're okay with not talking." In response, she gave a frown which Hope noticed. "All right. Didn't think so. Are you sure?" She crossed her arms as her frown grew bigger. "Okay." he decided to indulge her.

Lightning closed her eyes. This would be just so that she would talk again and nothing else. This would be under her control. Before she knew it, she found a pair of lips pressed against her lips. Her eyes widened in surprised. The touch of his lips made her hair stand up along with her tail. "So did that work?" Stunned, she just blinked at him in surprise. He leaned forward toward her curious. "Can you talk now?"

This was ridiculous. There was no way that this cat had got her tongue. She tried to speak, but only a sound came out. Hope sighed as he closed his eyes. "I guess it didn't work. I don't know what else we can do. Maybe some sort of experiment or something. How do you feel about sharp knives?"

She nodded. Most of what he said, she zoned out. Hope smiled. "Good! Then I'll see what I can do. Don't worry. There's a 10% chance you might survive this, but it can be done."

Lightning shook her head finally listening in on what he was saying. She waved her hand as a sign for him to come closer. He looked curious. "What?" She pointed toward her lips. "What? I don't see anything. I don't think your voice is going to come back that way." More, she got angry and pointed furiously. "Oh! You want me to try again. Okay. Maybe last time wasn't-."

Suddenly, she pulled him in and crashed his lips to hers. After several minutes, they separated for air. "Did it work that time?"

"No." she moved in again.

An hour later…

Hope leaned back against the couch breathing hard. "Still not working?"

"No. Keep trying."

His eyes drifted over to the side. "Hmm…I thought for sure it was. It's funny. I think that I can hear you."

Lightning grabbed onto his shirt, pulling him closer to her. "You're just hearing things."

* * *

_That's it for this chapter! As always let me know what you think and I'll be back to update!_


	4. What Kind of Season Is This?

_**Author's Notes:** Thank you to everyone for reading this story and sending in reviews! To respond to the last review I got, the next few chapters are kind of short, but they'll get longer again so that everyone will be able to read into them more.  
_

_Also I was surprised and happy at the mention of the new story I have yet to post. Thank you for mentioning it! About that, for anyone who is interested in hearing an update about it, it still won't be coming out for a while, but I can say that it will most likely come out by the end of this year or definitely no longer than really early next year. I'm really excited for posting that one! _

_If interested, I've decided to put up __early __a little __teaser about the story on my blog if anyone wants to check it out. I can also put up a release date for when I know for sure it's going to be posted. _

_Other than that I hope that you will enjoy this chapter of the story! _

* * *

_Chapter 4: What Kind of Season Is This?!: _

"I can't believe this."

Curiously, Lightning's eyes traveled over to Hope as she was sitting beside him on the floor inside of his office. "What?" she asked.

He placed his hand to his head. "This is getting out of control."

Her eyes drifted downwards. "Yeah. I know."

Hope raised his hand up toward the screen. "There are so many sequels to everything. How is anyone supposed to keep up?"

Lightning reached over and turned off his television. "I thought that you meant about the other situation."

Hope was curious as to what she was talking about. "What? Oh right!" He stood up from the ground and went over to the window. "This cat thing is spreading. It's surprising. Who knew that many people would bite other people? I think that the whole city has turned."

Lightning went over and joined in beside him. "Any ideas for a cure?"

He shook his head. "No. Well... It's not so bad being like this. I mean my cute rating has gone through the roof." Out of the corner of Lightning's eyes, she stared at him. Her eyes began to narrow. For some reason, she felt the need to pounce, but kept it to herself. What was this feeling going on inside of her? Finally able to brush it aside, she started listening again to him ramble. "So like I said it's not so bad being like this. What's the worst that can happen?"

"Director!" When they looked behind them, Hope saw a familiar face. His expression changed to surprised. "Alyssa?! What are you doing here?!"

Alyssa grinned. "I'm back!"

Hope blinked as he was still surprised by her appearance. "But how?"

Alyssa placed her hand on her side as she smiled. "I know. You don't see me at the end there, but who cares? Now I get to come back!"

Hope placed his hands on Lightning shoulders as he stepped behind her. She looked behind her curious as to what he was doing. "What-?"

Hope lowered his head a little more toward her shoulder. "See if you can get rid of her. I can't have her constantly following me around again."

"But I don't know who she is."

Alyssa stepped over and placed a file on his desk. "I'm the Director's assistant."

"Was my assistant. Not anymore. What was that you just brought in?"

"Oh! I just found this on one of the scientists' desk and brought it right over. It was something you wanted to see."

Hesitant at first, Hope grabbed Lightning's gunblade from her carrier. She became curious. "What are you doing?" He used the sword to make the folder slide over toward him. Unfortunately, Alyssa who was sitting on his desk placed her fingers on the file and slid it over in the opposite direction toward her. Hope let out a sigh and tried again, but the sword fell out of his hand. Lightning shook her head. "Why don't you just go over there and get-?"

She was about to go over, but Hope held her back. "Don't go any closer. She might start following you around too, or find some way to trick you into a place you can't come back from unless you're one of the main characters." He turned Lightning to him so that she could face him. "All right. I will go in for you. If I don't make it through, just know that…it was all for nothing." Lightning stared at him confused. Slowly, he stepped over toward Alyssa still seeing the smile displayed clearly on her face. Her tail rose up and down more the closer he came. Carefully, he opened the folder. Suddenly, he stepped back. "No!"

Lightning became surprised to his reaction. "What?" She stepped over beside him. "What is it?"

"Someone took my lunch and I got stuck with the bill. It's right up the street. I don't know why they just couldn't hand deliver it to me instead of reception." Upset, Lightning scratched and knocked the bill out of his hand. His eyes traveled over to the other paper that was in the folder. "Oh! I didn't see this. According to research that the scientists sent, who somehow look the same no matter what time period you go to, it appears that it's some sort of mating season. Ohh! Maybe that's why I see so many people standing outside of the building."

Lightning arched her eyebrow. "If it's those women again-."

Hope gave a look of concern at her. "I'm afraid that's it more than just women this time." Hearing that had caused Lightning surprise.

"Oh Director!" Hope looked down outside toward the male voice. "Come over to our side!" the guy sung sweetly.

Hope let out a sigh as he closed the window. "I'm not sure if we can even leave."

Lightning placed her hand at her waist. "All we need is an distraction to get out." She tilted her head over toward Alyssa. "I say we just throw her out there."

Hope placed his fingers to his chin. "That…could be an idea."

Alyssa leaned her head on her hands. "Or you can just stay right here with me Director. I'll be your mate."

Hope looked nervous as he shook his head and held up his hands. "No no no…no…..no…"

Sweetly Alyssa smiled. "Sure you won't change your mind?"

Hope groaned. "Do I have to?"

Lightning nudged Hope, but then frowned as she crossed her arms at Alyssa. "No now get out."

Alyssa's ears tilted back. "You get out." The two stared each other down.

Then, Hope slammed his fist in his hand as he smiled. "I got it!"

Lightning kept her arms crossed. "Good. Now you can tell her that there's no way that you're doing anything with her."

"That's not what I was thinking. I was thinking that if you two fight, then it will actually be a cat fight and not just two girls fighting." He sat down in his chair. "I wanna see this. And… go!"

Lightning sighed and grabbed onto the back of Alyssa jacket and threw her out of the door. "Get this straight. No one is following through with this stupid mating thing. You would seriously have to be crazy to-."

Suddenly, a crowd ran in knocking her over. Hope's eyes widened in surprised. On the floor, Lightning sat on one knee as she shook her head and placed her hand aside of it. "Where did that come from?" When she looked over, she saw the women there in front of his desk all talking at once. Lightning walked over and spotted a few familiar faces in the crowd. "Fang? Vanille? What are you guys doing here?"

Fang shrugged. "I don't know. I just ended up here."

Vanille placed her hands together. "Oh! My cat instincts just told me to go find someone and now I'm here!"

Lightning's eyes traveled over and spotted Serah. She was surprised to see her there. "Serah? Are you here for this mating thing too?"

"Yeah!"

"Wait a minute. You still got Snow or maybe even Noel?"

"Well…I guess that's true... Doesn't hurt to see how this will turn out!"

Lightning sighed. There had to be a way to clear out the crowd. When she tried scaring them off, they all just hissed at her, so now it was down to trying more extreme measures...

She whistled to get everyone's attention. Out of her pouch, she pulled out a ball of yarn. Instantly, everyone's ears and eyes perked up. "You want it? Go get it." She threw it out into the hall.

Everyone rushed outside to try and get it. Through the running crowd, she managed to grab Hope by the back of his collar and drag him away before he ran out of the door as well. She closed and locked the door behind her. Hope fell back against his chair. Lightning leaned forward with her hands on the chair's armrests. Her eyes pierced toward him. Her tail swayed from side to side. He wasn't sure why she was staring at him that way. All he knew was he could smell her scent getting stronger. "Umm…?" He wanted to say something, but there wasn't much he could say since she wouldn't even blink.

Finally, she lifted up and walked away. Hope blinked surprised and somewhat confused. "Was there…something you wanted?"

"I know somewhere you can go where you can be safe. At least until all this nonsense is over."

"Okay…" He wanted to ask why she was standing so close to him just then, but decided that it was nothing. Out of this whole situation, she seemed to be the sanest one there. A gentle smile appeared until he noticed something out of the corner of his eyes. For some reason, his jacket and part of his shirt was ripped open. He didn't understand how it happened. He saw her hands on the armrests the whole time. Curiously, he looked at Lightning who was sitting on the other side of the room on the couch. "Um? Just asking, but… did you see how this happened?"

Lightning leaned her head on her hand and closed her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Hope watched her for a few more seconds before he let it go. If she really did do it, then she was very quick with her hands. He had to watch her.

As the day continued to progress, once again Hope lifted his eyes uneasy. Over on the other side of the room, he could feel a pair of eyes staring at him. It seemed as if she hadn't taken her eyes off of him. There on the couch, she kept repeating the same action of her tail waving up and down. "You know…you don't have to stay here…"

"As long as I'm here, nothing bad will happen." Then, she stood up and headed toward the door.

He looked surprised. "Where are you doing?"

"I'm leaving."

He looked worried. "But you just said as long as you're here, nothing bad will happen."

"Oh right… good luck with that. I'll see you later." Afterwards, she left.

He couldn't believe what she did. For now, he sat in his office worried of what would happen. He pressed one of the buttons on the intercom. _"Director! We need help down here! We're being attacked!"_ Hope sighed as he leaned his head on his hand. It was going to be a hard choice between trying to leave now or risk it later.

* * *

Later, Hope walked down the hallway of an apartment complex. "All right. I got through the day without too much damage. If I sleep it off, it'll all be over…unless something tries to break into my house." He opened the door with the key he had. When he stepped inside, he looked surprised. In the living room, he saw Lightning sitting on the couch. Once he looked around, he sighed. "This isn't my apartment again. I really need to find where that is." He looked down at his key. "Hey! This isn't my key. This is your key. Where did you put my key?"

Lightning looked to the side. "I don't know what you're talking about." Around her finger, she turned a ring with a key on it. Afterwards, she placed it in the safest place she could think of tuck in between the couch.

"Well is there any way you can get me into my apartment and…maybe tell me where it is?" Without a word, she stepped over toward him. His eyes looked over and noticed that there was food on the counter in the kitchen. "Hey! Did you make this?" He was about to reach over, but she slapped his hand away. "Ow! Still not feeding me are you?" She grabbed him by the jacket and pulled him further inside.

Minutes later, Hope fell back against the couch. He looked over at Lightning that was sitting on the other end. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"What's that?"

A curious look came on his face. "You didn't bring me over here to seduce me did you?"

"No! That's ridiculous. What makes you say that?"

"I mean I'm probably reading too much into it. I could be wrong, but you tore my jacket and shirt open."

She shrugged. "You were probably going to get them off anyway."

"I guess... You actually made food."

"I was hungry."

"Yeah. That makes sense although it hasn't been eaten yet. Then how come you're wearing that?"

"Wearing what?" She looked down at herself. Below she was wearing a black, see through, thin coat that stopped at her waist. Underneath she had on black laced bra and underwear. "This thing? It's just something that I wear around the house."

"Oh!"

"If you want, you can eat now."

He smiled. "Thank you! I haven't eaten all day." He headed over into the kitchen and ate what was on the plate. "Hmm…This is really good." Suddenly, his eyes closed as he fell on the floor, passed out.

Lightning sighed. "What am I doing? This is stupid." Her eyes traveled over to Hope lying on the floor. She took some time to think about what to do next.

Later that night, Hope groaned as he woke up. He tried to move, but he really couldn't move. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was tied up with rope around him. He was sitting on the couch in the living room. "What just happened?"

Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed Lightning step in from the hall. She looked over at him. "What are you doing? Why did you knock me out? Did you take advantage of me while I was out?"

"Maybe a little, but that's not the point. Just find a cure already. Being a cat is driving me crazy."

"Knocking me out is not going to help. It's only going to make me not find one."

She crossed her arms as she looked to the side. "I guess not."

"Why did you knock me out?"

Her eyes drifted off to the side. "I don't know. I was just trying to decide what to do with you. If you were knocked out, then that would probably not make me do anything. Probably…"

He looked confused. "You could just let me go?"

"No. Then you might-."

"Might what?" She turned quiet. His expression changed to surprise as he thought of a reason. "I see. You didn't want me to mate with anyone else."

"That's not it." She was about to walk away, but he frowned. "If I remember right, I believe that someone placed a picture in my desk saying maybe he'll make a move now."

She stopped at his words and looked back at him. "You can remember that, but you can't remember where your own house is?"

"Hey…! That is very hard to remember." Lightning shook her head and walked into the hall out of sight. "Light! Come back here and untie me!" Seeing that she wasn't going to come back, he sighed as he held his head down. "She can't serious leave me here all night."

"Yes I can." he heard her voice from the background.

"If you didn't want me to be around, then why don't you just let me go?"

"…I don't know…"

Hope shook his head. For a few minutes, he tried to figure out what to do. He could feel the hunger going on in his stomach. When he looked over, he saw the food on the counter. He struggled, but couldn't get loose. She had the rope tied well around him. Finally out of frustration, he burst free from his hold.

Lightning stepped back into the living room. When she looked over at the couch, she was surprised. She saw that he was gone. She placed her hand on her hip. "Wow! He must've escaped. Probably was for the best anyway." She was about to turn around, but suddenly she felt something grab her arm. Surprised, she looked back and saw him. Before she could say anything, he pulled her in to a kiss. "Hope? What are you doing?"

"Getting two things I want." He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Hey! Put me down right now! I mean-! Wait! What two things are you talking about?"

He grinned. "For one some of this." He reached over and grabbed something off of the plate in the kitchen.

She looked surprised. "Wait! How are you not knocked out? I put enough stuff in there to kill a horse."

Hope smiled. "I feel fine." Afterwards, he fell on the floor taking Lightning with him. He passed out.

* * *

_That's it for this chapter! As always, let me know what you think and I'll be back to update!_


	5. The Mystery Of The Missing Felines

_**Author's Note:** Thank you to everyone for keeping up with the story and sending in reviews. In response to the last question that I received, I wasn't sure how to answer it without spoiling anything. I guess all I can say is that something will turn up but probably not soon. With this story, I wanted readers to have fun and enjoy reading the humor in it and all the crazy turns that it takes, but yes things will get solved._

_I hope that you will enjoy reading this chapter of the story! _

* * *

_Chapter 5: The Mystery Of The Missing Felines:_

"_It's been a long time since I've last seen my sister. I'm afraid that she has gone missing." _With a detective's hat and a magnifying glass, Serah headed over to Lightning's apartment. When she stepped inside, she saw a mess throughout the living room and food all over the kitchen including the floor and what eventually led into the hall. _"All right. Here we go."_ She searched around. _"It seemed as if there was a struggle here, but no sign of her. Worst case scenario: she's still here." _She went into her bedroom. There too was a mess. _"No sign of her here either. This is getting me nowhere."_ She stepped over toward the bed and picked up what seemed like a mix of white and grey fur. _"These colors seem familiar. Maybe this is Lightning's fur. She must be getting old. I guess the next thing I should do is look for some likely suspects and I'll do it right now!" _

A few days later…

"_Okay. It's been long enough. Time to look for Lightning again. Now where was I? Oh right! Finding likely suspects. Now who would I ask first that's close enough to my sister other than me? Now who could that be…?"_ Serah placed her finger to her lip as she started thinking.

"Now tell me! Where's my sister?!"

"I really don't know what you're talking about!" She grabbed onto a random scientist's jacket. The man held up his hands.

"You know her! You know who she is!"

"I don't even know who you are!" The man stared at her afraid.

"Serah?" Serah turned her attention away from the man to see Vanille standing behind her curious as to what she was doing. "Why are you shaking that random guy?"

"I'm looking for my sister."

"I really don't think that guy knows. Hey! Why don't you ask someone who would know? How about Hope?"

Serah's eyes traveled toward the ground. "I guess he might know where Lightning is..." Before she left, she pointed toward the guy and glared at him which he looked afraid. "Don't leave town. I might have more questions."

* * *

A smirk appeared on the lips of the silver haired man as he was sitting in his chair behind his desk. "You want to know where she is. Well I have news for you. I don't know where she is."

Serah stood up from the chair she was sitting in and planted her hands firmly against his desk. "You do know something don't you?!"

A chuckle left from him. "And what makes you think that?"

Serah gave him a suspicious stare. "It's written all over you. You have that smile that all the bad guys do when they're up to something and they really know what's going on."

Hope closed his eyes as he smirked. "All right Serah. You got me. This will be hard to hear, but now Lightning is mine."

Serah pressed her hand to her lips as she gasped. "No!"

"Yes! It's true."

Serah shook her head as she closed her eyes. "It can't be. It can't be true. Then where have you taken her?"

"Oh! She's around here somewhere."

Serah gave him an upset look. "If you hurt her, I'll-."

"Serah?" Serah's eyes traveled over to see a curious Lightning standing near the doorway. A relieved smile instantly came on her face. She went over to hug her. "Lightning! You're all right!"

The confusion never left from Lightning. "Yeah…Why would you think otherwise?"

"Wait a minute…" Serah turned her attention back to Hope. "How come you didn't just tell me where Lightning was?"

Hope gave an oblivious look. "Because I really didn't know. She stepped out and been gone for a few minutes."

Serah placed her hand against the side of her head. "How could I think that you would take Lightning? If anything, she probably would have taken you. Anyway Lightning where have you been all this time? I've been looking everywhere for you. It's been a long time."

Lightning walked over and sat on the desk nearby Hope. "What are you talking about? It's only been a few days."

"Oh! When I checked your apartment, it was a mess. I didn't know what happened to you."

Confusion became written on Lightning's face. "How did you get into my apartment?"

"I broke in, but that's not the point. Where have you been all this time?"

A smirk appeared on Lightning's face as her eyes turned to the man beside her. In return, he did the same. "Oh. Nowhere special."

Serah tilted her head. "I think that your tail just went into happy mode."

As Lightning frowned, her tail continued to move. "No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"It is not." Lightning argued back.

"How did your apartment end up in a mess?" Serah placed her detective hat on and leaned forward on the desk. "This mystery has to be solved."

Lightning looked at Hope. "Well…"

Hope looked to Serah. "The truth is we've been trapped the past few days."

Serah was surprised to hear his answer. "Trapped? How?"

Lightning's eyes drifted to the side. She seemed annoyed when she thought back. "This all started because of that silly mating thing."

"At first, Lightning had me captured in her apartment." Hope explained.

Serah reacted with surprise. "What? I thought that you told me that you wouldn't be with Hope in 500 years."

"It's past 500 years now. That's old news."

"Go on." Serah told them.

"Anyway you're probably wondering why the apartment is in a mess. Well…you would be right. There was a bit of a struggle." Hope replied. Both Lightning and he could remember back to that night.

_Lightning's fist had hit against Hope's back as she frowned. "I'm serious. Put me down now!" Hope listened and put her down. She crossed her arms. "There's no way that this is happening." _

_A smirk appeared on his face. "Oh really? I just think that you're resisting the inevitable." _

_She frowned. "Oh yeah and just what makes you think that?" _

_Hope pointed to the floor. "There's a trail of food leading from here to your room." _

_Lightning shrugged as if it was nothing. "That was just in case I get hungry later." _

"_If I guessed right, I think that it was meant for the scent to lead me there." He grabbed her arm and turned her around to where her back was against the wall. "Well I got news for you. I can smell your scent a lot more." He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. When Hope separated from her, Lightning stared at him with surprise. With a raise of her hand, she smacked him across the face as her frown returned. Hope placed his hand on his cheek still keeping his smirk on. _

_Afterwards he walked away from her. He walked over to a plate she had in the kitchen and tossed it on the floor breaking it. She couldn't believe that he had done so. "What are you doing?" _

_Hope smiled. "Nothing much." _

_Lightning sent a glare toward him. "Don't do anything else." It was too late. He dropped another glass on the floor, letting it break. She stepped over into the living room and knocked over a vase. "You don't think that I can't do that too?" _

_Hope started knocking stuff over along with her as both of them smiled at each other. Soon he stepped over to where her television was and knocked that over. Instead of getting mad, she just smirked and knocked over her couch. Soon, the two approached each other. He leaned in, but she just pushed him away. He smiled and just pushed her back on the ground. A laugh left from his lips. _

_Lightning got up and laughed a little as well. Her lips had met with his in a kiss. His back had bumped into the wall, but then he turned over and made her back press against the wall. Her body became lifted off of the ground as her legs wrapped around him._

Serah's eyes traveled to the side a little nervous. "I probably… shouldn't hear the rest of this."

Hope smiled at her. "No! No! It's okay." As he continued talking, Serah pressed her hands to her ears. While he was talking, he kept his eyes on Lightning. When she thought he was done, she uncovered her ears. "Yeah. You should see those scratches. She got her nails in pretty deep. The way you used those cat toys... Wow…" Hope returned his attention back to Serah. "After a while, I ended up losing the feeling in all of my fingers."

"And I ended up losing the feeling in my legs." Lightning added in.

Serah looked surprised. Hope continued telling the story. "Afterwards we figured that at least a day had passed. After everything that happened, we weren't sure where we were."

Serah gave a confused look. "I'm assuming that you were still in the apartment…"

Hope's eyes shifted between Lightning and Serah. "Where ever we were and how long we were there, we soon realized that we would need food."

"If you guys were still in the apartment, then couldn't you just go to the kitchen?" Serah asked.

"We needed food, but thanks to Lightning we were able to find food. She found this food on the ground through this narrow cave. "

Serah gave a confused look as she thought back to what he could be talking about. "Do you mean the hallway?"

"It was a dark place, but then we managed to see a light. When we went in further, we found this place and it was filled with food that only looked like it would last a week before having to go to the store." Hope continued.

Serah's eyelids lowered dully. "I'm pretty sure you guys were in the kitchen…"

Lightning looked over to Serah. "We stayed there for a little until we could find our way out of that place."

Hope smiled. "And here we are today."

Serah kept her same dull stare. "You guys do realize that you were still in Lightning's apartment the whole time right?" The two continued to stare at her unsure of what she was saying. Finally, Serah let out a sigh, letting it go. "Well that solves that mystery. I'm just glad that you two finally made it back here all right."

Lightning crossed her arms as she closed her eyes. "At least this whole crazy mating thing is over."

Hope nodded. "I agree." He smiled once he glanced toward Lightning. "It actually wasn't so bad."

"If you don't count the people that tried to break into your office." Lightning pointed out.

Serah grinned. "Aw! I'm glad to see that you two worked things out!" She winked at her older sister. "I guess that means that Hope will be staying around more often."

"You see him enough every day. He's practically around me all the time." Lightning said.

Hope reacted with surprised. "Wait a minute. You're the one who comes to my office all the time-."

Lightning waved her hand. "Same thing." She started heading toward the door. "This whole cat mating thing is stupid. Once Hope finds a cure to get us out these ears, tails, and weird obsessions for strings and catnip, the sooner that all of this can get back to normal."

Serah pouted with her arms crossed. "So you mean to tell me that this whole crazy incident was for nothing? That you didn't get anything out of it?"

"Yes." Lightning answered.

Serah became curious and suspicious. "And you're just going to let Hope go to someone else if someone else wanted him?"

"I'm still here guys…" Hope said, hoping that they didn't forget about him.

Lightning looked back at Serah. "If it works out with someone else, then she can take him. I won't think anything else about it."

Serah arched her eyebrow. "So anyone can take him?"

Lightning shrugged. "Yeah."

Suddenly, the door to Hope's office opened. Excited, Alyssa leaned in. "Oh Director! I'll be your mate!"

Lightning pushed her outside. "What did I tell you before? I told you that he's mine so get lost!" She slammed the door close. Suddenly, the door opened again. When she looked over, she saw Vanille poke her head through the door with a grin. Before she could say anything, Lightning got her out of the doorway and closed the door. She sighed out loud and shook her head. "What do people not understand? Not anyone can just walk in and take him. Not while I'm around."

A smirk appeared on Serah. "Oh really?! I thought that you were letting him go."

Lightning gave a confused look. "What did I say to make you think that?"

Serah held up her thumb toward Hope. "See! My sister really does like you."

A relieved smile came on Hope's lips. "Just so you two know I can choose whoever I wish, but it's nice to know that Lightning shares a mutual feeling as I do."

Lightning arched her eyebrow to his comment. "Oh really?" She stepped in beside Hope which he looked up curious. "Yes? What's that look for?"

Serah closed her eyes as she smiled. In the background, she could hear several sounds of pain from a male voice. "Ow! Ow!"

"It's nice to know that everything worked out in the end." Then Serah noticed that the sounds had stopped. Curiously, she looked back. "Hope? Are you okay? I noticed that you're not responding to my sister's sweet affections of torture." When she looked over, she saw Hope with his eyes closed peacefully with his head resting on Lightning's lap. Her fingers were gently stroking through his silver hair and on his ears. Serah relaxed. "I guess that worked out well too. What happened to you choosing anyone you wanted?"

Hope's lips curved into a grin. "I have Lightning right here. Why would I need anyone else?"

Lightning continued stroking his hair as a slight smile came to her lips. "That's right Hope. You have me now. You don't need anyone else."

Serah began to worry about how much control that Lightning had over Hope.

* * *

_That's it for this chapter! As always let me know what you think and I'll be back to update!_

___Also I finally got the cover image for this story done! To check out the full picture, check out my blog! _


	6. The Source of the Cat Frenzy

_**Author's Notes Please Read!:** Hello everyone. So after reading some of the comments that already came in from last time, I've decided to cut out the whole side story all together and just stick to the main story hence getting to the end of this story. If you already read the side story, sorry for the confusion. With it, I wanted to experiment and see how things would work out putting a side story in this story, but it turns out... not so well... and I didn't want to get rid of this story so... _

_With this last chapter you will find out how this whole thing really happened. As for the side story, I might make it into its own story. I hope that you will enjoy this last chapter!_

* * *

_Chapter 6: The Source of the Cat Frenzy:_

After a long day of work, Hope headed over to Lightning's apartment. His eyes traveled along the ground tired. All he wanted to do was find somewhere he could lie down and rest. Her place was the closest one he could think of and also he still couldn't remember where his own place was so that helped going to hers. Nearby, a scent drifted across his nose. He closed his eyes as he breathed in the nice smelling aroma. It was almost enough to make his ears and tail perk up, but his body was too tired to respond.

Once he stepped in front of the door, it suddenly opened. He opened his eyes surprised. Once he stepped in, he became even more surprised.

"Welcome back." In front of him stood Lightning with a plate of food in her hands and a gentle smile on her lips. "How was your day at work?"

He blinked a few times. "Um? It was okay..." Then a smile came on his lips. "Whatever you got smells really good."

Lightning gave a faint smile. "I made it all myself."

When he looked over at the counter, he saw a ton of food made. His eyes lit up as he could feel his stomach delight. "It all looks really good!" He was about to step over, but soon heard a sound. "Meow…" Curious, he stopped and looked over. Nearby, he saw two girls and one boy. The girl that stood in the middle seemed to be the oldest, the boy the second oldest, and the little girl beside the older girl the youngest. All of them had cat ears and tails like Lightning and he did. His expression changed to surprise. "Who are you guys?" He was almost afraid to ask.

The two girls looked very similar to Lightning. A big grin came on the youngest girl. "Daddy!"

His eyes widened as he was stunned. "What?"

Lightning walked passed him. "You don't have to act so surprised." She stood behind the three children and smiled. "These are our three little accidents."

"What?!" He looked uneasy. Then his eyes lifted up to her as another thought came to mind. "Hey Light? How come you seem so happy?"

"Well this is your daydream isn't it?"

Hope's eyes snapped opened. He breathed in once he realized that he was still out in the hallway and in front of the door. _"Wow that was a very…vivid dream..." _A nervous look came on his face. He began to step backwards from the door. _"Maybe this would be a good time to find my own apartment." _He was about to run off, but Lightning opened the door to her apartment. She was a little confused as to why he was running off. "Hey! I thought I smelled you out here."

Hope froze and looked back. Lightning looked more confused. "Why are you running?"

Hope became nervous. "Oh! No reason." He headed toward the door. _"I hope that was just a dream."_ He stepped inside of her apartment. Once his eyes searched around, a little disappointment came on his face. His head dropped. _"At least there are no kids, but there's no food either."_ Down below, he could hear his stomach let out a growl. _"She still won't feed me."_ When he lifted his head and looked over, he saw Lightning staring toward the floor as one arm held onto her other arm. "Something wrong?"

Lightning looked up at him, snapping out of her thoughts. "Hm? Oh nothing. Any luck on finding a cure?"

Hope shook his head. She let out a sigh and headed over to her couch. She sat down as she looked toward the ground. He went over and sat down beside her. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Lightning's eyes drifted away from him. "I don't know..."

Hope gave a smile of comfort. "Come on. Things can't be that bad."

Her eyes glanced at him before looking back down. "I guess that I'm just…sort of…thinking about what happened the other day. The urges…they just won't go away."

"I see... Well you enjoyed it and so did I. There's no shame in that."

She closed her eyes as she became serious. "It can't happen again. We have to resist our animalistic instincts."

He leaned in and brushed his face against hers. "I think that it would be all right if we give in a little."

She pressed her teeth together as her cheeks flushed with a light red. "No. There's no such thing as giving in a little. We'll end up losing ourselves completely."

"Then if you lose yourself with me, won't that be all right?"

As much as she wanted to resist, he leaned his body against her making her lean forward until her body was lying on the cushions. "Don't."

"It will just be between the two of us. No one else has to know."

Lightning frowned. "That's not the point."

Hope shrugged. "Fine."

He was about to get up until he heard her again. "Wait…" His eyes traveled over. She was lying on her stomach. She tried to stay serious, but through her expression showed her uneasiness. "If you tell anyone I will kill you."

Hope looked a little surprised. "So? Does that mean-?"

Lightning looked serious to show that she was. "One last time and that's it."

"All right." He leaned forward. A few seconds later, her white tail lifted into the air. She breathed out as her eyes were closed. A noticeable sound had escaped from her. The sound had brought a smile to his face. "See. This isn't so bad." Hope was lying beside her as his fingers stroked the top of her head and cat ears. As he continued, she tried to ignore the fact that she was purring at his touch. "You're still not allowed to tell anyone about this."

His lips curved into a smile. "But doesn't it feel good?"

"Yes…" she muttered.

Minutes later, she was sitting up with his head on her lap. Her fingers stroked though his hair and cat ears. There was a smile on his face. She placed her head on her hand that was on the armrest of the couch. "Don't you feel any sense of shame?"

"No. It's just something that I enjoy."

She sighed as she turned her eyes away. Her finger continued petting him. "Hey Hope?"

He opened his eyes hearing her concern. "Yes?"

"Do you think that we'll be like this forever?"

He turned around to where he was lying on his back and looked up at her. There he could see her concern. He sat up beside her. "Listen. I don't know if we will find a cure, but I know one thing."

She gave him a curious look. "What's that?"

"Despite the weird urges to mark territories, and easily getting distracted by strings and wires; I had to find some way to take those things down so that the scientists would get back to work…" He looked up as he started thinking. "And also ignoring the urge to ban all dogs..." He shook his head and returned his attention back to Lightning. "Despite all of this, something good did come out of this."

"What's that?"

Sincerely he stared into her eyes. "You." She was a little surprised to hear him say so. "If it wasn't for this, I'm not sure how I would've approached you, but now…I'm kind of glad that this happen."

Lightning turned silent. His words had made her think. Then she leaned over toward his face. Her lips curved into a little smile. "You know…I don't regret it so much either." Hearing her say that had caused a smile to come to him as well.

The next afternoon, Lightning, Hope, and Serah were walking through the streets of Academia. On the street, Yeul was standing behind a box filled with cats. She was holding one cat up in front of a business man who looked uneasy. She bumped the cat into the man's stomach several times. "Here. You will take this cat. I have foreseen it."

The man held up his hands nervously. "Sorry little girl, but I don't need a cat right now."

Suddenly a big, dark sword went in front of the man and stopped very close at his neck. Instantly the man's eyes widened, scared. "You heard what she said. Pay for the cat and go."

Shaking, his hand reached into his wallet as best as he could and pulled out all the money he had. With his hand still shaking, he held out the money. Caius took it from his hand. "You may go now."

"Here is your cat." Yeul held the cat out in front of him. The man nodded and took off running with the cat. He ran passed Lightning, Hope, and Serah screaming. They were a little confused as to what was going on. Serah placed her hands behind her back. "That was weird."

Noel crossed his arms. "Do you have to threaten everyone who comes to see the cats?"

"If it will help Yeul's goal of selling these cats then yes." Caius answered.

Noel pointed back behind him where there was a little girl crying with a cat in her arms. "Did you really have to scare the kids into buying too?"

"All cats must go. I have foreseen it." Yeul explained.

Soon Lightning, Serah, and Hope walked up to the three on the street. Noel, Caius, and Yeul noticed them as well. Serah looked worried. "Look! It's Caius!"

An angry look came on Lightning's face. She went over to him along with Serah and Hope. "What are you doing here? Trying to start something again?"

Caius looked over at her. "Ah! It's you."

"Don't worry Lightning. He's not here to start anything. I'm making sure of that." Noel tried to assure her.

Lightning crossed her arms. "Good. You still have some nerve showing your face around here."

"Loser of our fight says what?" he asked quickly.

Lightning gave a confused look as to what he said. "What?"

A smirk came on Caius's face. "Ah! So you have admitted defeat to me."

"You-!" She was ready to go over to him and use her gunblade to do the talking, but Hope grabbed her by her waist holding her back. "He's not worth it Light."

"Try as you may Fluffy." Caius provoked her.

Her eyes narrowed at the name. "Fluffy?! Who are you calling Fluffy?!" Slowly Lightning tried to reach him, but she was struggling against Hope's weight as he was struggling to hold her back.

Caius looked over at Hope. "I hope for your sake that she is housebroken and not running around scratching everything like someone with rabies."

Lightning became furious. Her eyes glared at him with intent to kill. "Oh that's it! I'll put you down right now! I'll pull those ears from right out of your head!"

"Lightning calm down! He's doing this on purpose!" Hope tried to stop her.

Noel leaned over toward Caius. "Do you really have to provoke her like that? I think she means it this time that she's going to kill you."

"Let her try. I'm getting bored selling cats all day."

Yeul looked over. "I heard that Caius."

"Sorry Yeul."

Lightning tried to pull Hope's hands off of her, but he wouldn't let go. "Let go of me Hope! He's so dead! First I'm going to start by cutting off his tail!"

Serah kneeled down toward the box of cats, curious. "What are you guys doing with all these cats?"

Yeul kneeled down and looked over at Serah. "We are selling them so that they will have good homes."

Serah smiled nervously. "Oh! That's very nice of you. With everyone around being cats themselves, I don't know if people are going to want cats..."

Nearby, Lightning struggled to get Hope off and managed to finally push him off. Quickly he reacted by grabbing onto her legs in another attempt to stop her. More, his body ended up being dragged along the ground. Caius stuck out his tongue at her which only provoked her more. Noel tried to pull him back, but he refused to budge.

"I think that people will want cats more after the experience of being one. By now, everyone in the city should have enjoyed the feeling of being one." Yeul said.

Serah lifted her eyes up to Yeul surprised. "Wait… You know that everyone has been turned into one?"

Yeul nodded. "Yes. I wanted everyone to be turned into one so that they could experience the joy."

Lightning looked over surprised. "So wait. You're the one who turned us into cats?"

Hope stood up. "Wait! You have that power?"

Yeul nodded. "With Caius help yes."

Lightning looked upset. "This whole time you had everyone going crazy because you wanted us to be your pets?"

"This just wasn't for my benefit." Yeul stood up. "I think that it has helped you as well. Actually he gave me the idea." she pointed toward Hope.

Hope looked surprised. "Me? How?"

"One day I saw you here on this very street. You were trying to think of some way to get her attention." She pointed toward Lightning. "I like cats and I knew she would too. I have foreseen this."

_On the streets in Academia, Hope stood with his finger to his chin as his eyes stared toward the ground. "Now what kind of gift can I give to her?" _

_Yeul and Caius stopped nearby. "Maybe we should help him." _

_Caius sighed as he gave a dull look. "Do we really have to? He is working with those two sisters." _

"_This will help with my vision. Can you go get him?" Caius sighed again. _

"_Maybe this isn't the right time. I should just head back to the office." Hope placed his hand to his forehead as he searched out. "If I can find a way back through Academia. Why did I let them make the city so complicated?" _

_As Hope continued thinking, Caius held out his sword and was about to strike until Yeul spoke. "Do not kill him." _

"_What else am I supposed to do?" _

"_Knock him unconscious." _

_Caius sighed with his eyes closed. _

"_What's going on? If I turn around to see someone sneaking up behind me-" Before Hope could turn around, Caius hit him in the back of the head. He fell down on the ground unconscious. He looked back at Yeul. "Was this really a good idea doing this in broad daylight?" _

"_Just make it look not so suspicious." Yeul told him. _

_Caius grabbed Hope by his foot and dragged him along the ground. They pulled him into an alleyway. Once they stopped, Yeul kneeled down to Hope. "Now to use powers I didn't even know I had." When she looked over, she saw Caius reaching into Hope's pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Put it back Caius." He sighed and put it back. _

_After she was done, Hope opened his eyes. Through his blurry sight, he saw her until his sight became covered in darkness. Caius threw the sack over his shoulder. Hope let out a cat like sound from his body hitting hard against his armor. _

_Later, they stood in Hope's office. Caius emptied the sack and let Hope fall on his desk unconscious. He turned his attention to Yeul. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" _

"_Soon everyone will be cats just as I have imagined." _

"_You do realize that you're the cause of this right?" _

"_It has been foreseen." They turned and started walking away._

Hope looked upset and surprised. "You were the ones who turned me into a cat?"

Yeul nodded. "Thanks to you, you completed my vision. We all get to experience what it is like to be a cat."

"But-?" Before Hope could finish, Lightning stepped forward upset. "But what about me? Why can't I get this collar off?"

"That was the connection between you two. Only he can hear it." Yeul explained.

Hope and Lightning glanced at each other before they looked at Yeul. "So it's like a dog whistle? Every time I heard it, it does something weird." Hope said.

"That was supposed to happen." Yeul replied.

Lightning tried to pull the collar off, but it wouldn't come off. "How am I supposed to get this thing off?"

"You cannot. It is stuck there until you turn back to normal."

Hope looked surprised at Yeul. "We'll change back?"

Yeul nodded. "It will wear off soon. Everyone will be back to normal again."

Hope, Lightning, and Serah sighed with relief. Hope smiled at Serah and Lightning. "Looks like I won't have to research any further."

"Yeah!" Serah agreed.

A thought crossed Lightning's mind. "Wait! How did you guys get this collar on me?"

Caius placed his hand to his face as he closed his eyes. "Do we really have to explain this one?"

Yeul looked at her. "Relax. You will be back to normal soon so… does it really matter?"

Lightning sighed as she placed her hand on her hip and closed her eyes.

* * *

_That's it for the story! I hope that you liked it. The mystery is finally solved. As always, let know what you think and thanks for reading!_

_To read more behind the story, check out my Author's Final Notes on my blog that will be updated in the next few days!_


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